The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) rejected United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Opinion and Expression Irene Khan's call to abolish the agency.
In a statement posted on its official Facebook page on Saturday, February 3, NTF-ELCAC Executive Director Ernesto Torres Jr. said they take offense against the ill-informed opinion of Khan, who he believed betrayed Filipinos.
"We felt betrayed. UNSR Irene Khan blindsided the Filipino people. We were hijacked because Irene Khan allowed herself to be used by those who want the government and the NTF-ELCAC to fail," he said.
Torres also described the UN Special Rapporteur's abolition call as a "lame attempt" to revive the "dying terrorist movement."
The NTF-ELCAC Executive Director then countered Khan's statement that their agency's mandate is already "outdated".
"The NTF-ELCAC remains as the single most relevant task force in the Philippines whose accomplishments will reverberate across many generations of Filipinos and whose achievements have brought back the pride to the Filipino as a people and as a nation," Torres said, adding that the agency said has always been "relevant."
He furthered that they would not allow someone like Khan, whom he called an outsider, to dictate the government in its fight for peace.
The NTF-ELCAC was formed by Executive Order No. 70 signed by former President Rodrigo Duterte on Dec. 4, 2016.
The agency's mandate is to address the "root causes of insurgencies, internal disturbances and tensions, and other armed conflicts and threats" and "ensure comprehensive orchestration of related peace efforts and initiatives" among government agencies.
